BIOPIC: Biological Magnetic Resonance Imaging Parameters in Cancer
Research type
Research Study
Full title
BIOPIC: Biological Magnetic Resonance Imaging Parameters in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma
IRAS ID
213131
Contact name
Fergus Gleeson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Oxford
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 1 days
Research summary
Summary of Research
This study will investigate new MRI scanning techniques in patients undergoing radiotherapy treatment for squamous cell oropharyngeal (head and neck) cancer. We are looking at whether there are any changes in the cancer when the patient breathes in additional oxygen or carbogen (oxygen with carbon dioxide). This is important as tumours with low oxygen tend to be less responsive to treatment with chemotherapy or radiotherapy. We are also looking at a new method of imaging glucose (sugar) as this is taken up by cancer cells more than normal cells. We currently use FDG-PET/CT scans to image glucose but this involves radiation, unlike MRI. Patients will be asked to have an extra MRI scan before, during and after treatment to look at changes seen with the new MRI techniques we are investigating. We will also be taking blood samples and accessing tissue samples, such as routine biopsies taken as part of clinical care. We will look at the changes that occur with treatment, both under the microscope and through genetic testing. We will then compare this information to the findings from the MRI scans and other scans done routinely as part of patient care. We are interested to see if the new MRI techniques might be useful to monitor cancer patients having treatment or to predict whether they are likely to respond to therapy. In future this may allow us to choose the right treatment for a patient or to modify a treatment to improve response. This study is funded by the Oxford Cancer Imaging Centre and the Oxfordshire Health Services Research Committee. Recruitment will take place at the Churchill Hospital, Oxford.Summary of Results
We study examined the feasibility of oxygen-enhanced MRI (OE-MRI) to provide indicators of tumour perfusion in patients with head and neck tumours. Due to the radiotherapy being largely successful, the sample sizes of non-responder groups were small, and therefore it was not possible to properly assess the predictive nature of OE-MRI. Nevertheless, the results observed were consistent with the underlying OE-MRI theory and previously reported tumour OE-MRI responses. Altogether, these results suggest that further clinical OE-MRI studies to assess hypoxia and radiotherapy response are worth pursuing, and that there is important work to be done to improve the robustness of the OE-MRI technique in human applications in order for it to be useful as a widespread clinical technique.
We have also reported our practical experience in using OE-MRI in a clinical clinical study, with the aim that sharing this is helpful to researchers planning to use OE-MRI in further studies. In addition, we have discussed some non-technical challenges that were faced. We also found that variable flip angle (VFA) was a more useful technique for using OE-MRI in tumours than modified look-locker inversion recovery (MOLLI) T1 mapping.REC name
Wales REC 4
REC reference
17/WA/0033
Date of REC Opinion
5 Feb 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion